{"id":5872,"date":"2026-01-11T18:42:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T04:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/?p=5872"},"modified":"2026-01-11T18:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T04:42:40","slug":"mobileviews-593-ces-2026-wrap-up-with-guest-panelist-frank-mcpherson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/11\/mobileviews-593-ces-2026-wrap-up-with-guest-panelist-frank-mcpherson\/","title":{"rendered":"MobileViews 593: CES 2026 wrap-up with guest panelist Frank McPherson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px); height: 150px;\" title=\"MobileViews 593: CES 2026 wrap-up with guest panelist Frank McPherson\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/player-v2\/?i=c76ff-1a1685c-pb&amp;from=pb6admin&amp;share=1&amp;download=1&amp;rtl=0&amp;fonts=Arial&amp;skin=1&amp;font-color=auto&amp;logo_link=episode_page&amp;btn-skin=7\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-5874\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-1024x541.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-1024x541.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-768x406.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-1536x811.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-Frank-Jon-me-AI-2048x1082.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Jon Westfall<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and I were joined by frequent podcast panelist Frank McPherson to dive into the highlights of <\/span><b>CES 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. While Jon and I were initially skeptical about whether there would be much to talk about this year, we actually found several soon-to-be-available gadgets that caught our eye, alongside some &#8220;worst of&#8221; picks like a single-use digital lollipop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>AI and My Smart Home Transition<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve been testing the new <\/span><b>Alexa.com browser-based entry point<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which offers a level of <\/span><b>vertical integration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that really impressed me. Recently, I had to replace a <\/span><b>WeMo switch<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that Belkin is bricking at the end of the month\u2014a trend of &#8220;cloud-killing&#8221; devices that we\u2019ve also seen with Google and Nest. I bought an <\/span><b>Amazon Smart Switch<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and when I asked Alexa how to recreate my sunset triggers, the AI offered to do it for me instantly. It\u2019s the kind of seamless experience I\u2019ve wanted for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>LEGO &#8220;Smart Play&#8221; Bricks<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an adult fan of LEGO who still remembers the Samsonite-branded sets, I was fascinated by the announcement of <\/span><b>Smart Bricks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These bricks include <\/span><b>accelerometers, sound synthesizers, and light sensors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the first kits arriving in <\/span><b>Star Wars themes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this March. We had a great debate about whether these features\u2014like pre-set battle sounds\u2014help or hinder a child&#8217;s imagination. While Frank was concerned about technology &#8220;filling in the blanks,&#8221; Jon noted that LEGO needs this level of immersion to compete with brands like Funwhole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Evolution of E-Ink and Tablets<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frank, our resident expert on <\/span><b>minimalist digital tech<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, brought our attention to the <\/span><b>TCL &#8220;NextPaper&#8221;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tablet. It uses <\/span><b>120Hz LCD technology<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but features specialized modes to mimic the reflective look of e-ink. It\u2019s aimed squarely at the <\/span><b>Kindle Scribe Colorsoft<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Remarkable Pro<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Frank made a great point about why these devices matter: for many users, the physical act of writing on a screen is essential for <\/span><b>memory retention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Foldables and Mobile Accessories<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We spent some time discussing the &#8220;aspirational&#8221; <\/span><b>Samsung Trifold<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which unfolds into an 8-inch tablet but is quite bulky in the pocket. I\u2019m personally watching the <\/span><b>iPhone Air<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as its thinness suggests it could be half of an eventual Apple foldable. On the accessory front, <\/span><b>Clicks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made a splash with two items:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Clicks Power Keyboard:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A MagSafe-attachable sliding keyboard with a <\/span><b>2150 mAh battery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><b>Jon actually pre-ordered this<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for his iPhone 16 Pro.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Clicks Communicator:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A standalone BlackBerry-style Android device featuring a physical keyboard, <\/span><b>SD card slot<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and a <\/span><b>3.5mm headphone jack<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wearables and &#8220;Tricorders&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frequent guest panelist Stephen Hughes was not able to join us for this podcast.\u00a0 However, he contributed several new products introduced at CES for this podcast discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Pebble Round 2:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It\u2019s great to see the Pebble brand return with an e-ink watch boasting a <\/span><b>two-week battery life<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Claude AI integration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Roborock Saros:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A $1,000 vacuum that can actually <\/span><b>climb stairs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rocket Smart Glasses:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These were a standout because they include <\/span><b>built-in diopter adjustments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning you can dial in your prescription without needing lens inserts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Kode Dot:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A &#8220;tricorder for geeks&#8221; that looks like a GameBoy controller and acts as a hacker tool.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-5876\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-1536x857.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MViews-593-infographic-2048x1143.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><br \/>\nAvailable via <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/mobileviews.com-podcast\/id301171904?mt=2\">Apple iTunes<\/a>.<br \/>\n<a href=\"\u201chttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ToddOgasawara\/podcasts\u201d\">MobileViews YouTube Podcasts channel <\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"\u201chttps:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/MobileViewscom-Podcast-Podcast\/B08K565TQS?qid=1640555789&amp;sr=1-1&amp;ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&amp;pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&amp;pf_rd_r=TXEJVWB2VW471GJ9XQQ0\u201d&lt;\/a\">MobileViews Podcast on Audible.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jon Westfall and I were joined by frequent podcast panelist Frank McPherson to dive into the highlights of CES 2026. While Jon and I were initially skeptical about whether there would be much to talk about this year, we actually found several soon-to-be-available gadgets that caught our eye, alongside some &#8220;worst of&#8221; picks like a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ppKRG-1wI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5872"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5878,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5872\/revisions\/5878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobileviews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}